Charlie Flanagan (born 1 November 1956) is an Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

politician who has been a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency since 2020, and previously from 1987 to 2002, 2007 to 2016 and from 2016 to 2020 for the

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...

constituency. He was appointed Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in September 2020. He previously served as Minister for Justice and Equality from 2017 to 2020, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2014 to 2017, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs from May to July 2014 and Chair of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party from 2011 to 2014.

Personal life

His father was Oliver J. Flanagan, an Irish

politician who served as Minister for Defence in the late 1970s. Flanagan is married and has two daughters.

Career

Flanagan was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1987 general election, succeeding his father Oliver J. Flanagan. He retained his seat at each election until losing it at the 2002 general election, but regained it at the 2007 general election. Flanagan was a member of

Laois County Council Laois County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Laoise) is the authority responsible for local government in County Laois, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and co ...

from 1985 until he stepped down in 2004. He was party Spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Law Reform from 2007 to 2010, and was the party Spokesperson on Children from 2010 to 2011. He was Chairman of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party from June 2011 to May 2014. On 7 May 2014, following the resignation of Alan Shatter as Minister for Justice and Minister for Defence, Flanagan was appointed the following day as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to succeed Frances Fitzgerald, who assumed the Justice portfolio. On 11 July 2014, Flanagan was appointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, succeeding the former Labour leader

Eamon Gilmore Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to: * Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name * Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist * ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II *"Éam ...

. Upon the appointment of Leo Varadkar as

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

on 14 June 2017, Flanagan was appointed as Minister for Justice and Equality. He campaigned in favour of a Yes vote in the 2018 Irish abortion referendum. Flanagan was replaced as Minister for Justice by

Helen McEntee Helen McEntee (born 8 June 1986) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Justice from June 2020 to November 2022. From April to November 2021, she became a minister without portfolio during a period of maternity leave ...

on the formation of a new government with

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence since December 2022. He served as Taoiseach from 2020 to 2022 and has been Leader of ...

as Taoiseach on 27 June 2020.

British forces commemoration

As Minister for Justice in 2020, Flanagan was behind plans for a state commemoration of the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

(RIC), the police force in Ireland while it was under British rule. This drew widespread criticism from politicians and the public, largely due to the RIC's role in suppressing Irish independence movements, and atrocities by the

Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

during the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

. A member of the government-appointed advisory group said they had "recommended a simple ceremony in Dublin Castle, but somebody lost the run of themselves and called it a State event". The backlash forced Flanagan to defer the commemoration, but he committed to holding another in future. Flanagan supported a memorial wall in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasne ...

that drew controversy for commemorating British soldiers alongside Irish revolutionaries. He condemned the decision to take down the wall as a "victory for bullies". Flanagan has also defended his wearing of the

remembrance poppy A remembrance poppy is an artificial flower worn in some countries to commemorate their military personnel who died in war. Remembrance poppies are produced by veterans' associations, who exchange the poppies for charitable donations used to g ...

, a historically controversial emblem in Ireland, calling it an "international symbol of remembrance".

References

External links

Charlie Flanagan's page on the Fine Gael website
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, Charles 1956 births Alumni of University College Dublin Fine Gael TDs Living people Local councillors in County Laois Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil Ministers for Foreign Affairs (Ireland) Ministers for Justice (Ireland) People from Mountmellick Politicians from County Laois